Local artist Beverly Johnson is a lifelong creative. She’s worked with classical media from childhood on, and oil paintings since high school. But it was not until about seven years ago that Johnson found the obsession she spends most of her creative time with today, silk painting.
After an intro class to the medium by Sandra K. Johnson (no relation), Beverly Johnson explained, “We rushed out to get the fabric and other necessary accouterment.”
“I just fell in love with it,” she said. “So I went and purchased my silk, and my supplies. I also enlisted in the community education class with Jill Targer, so those two silk art teachers were instrumental in me getting started, and now I get to be a part of that community too.”
Johnson now teaches silk painting regularly at the Valley Art Gallery, the nonprofit gallery in Orcutt, where she’s a board member serving as first vice president. She leads a silk painting class every fourth Saturday of the month.
The classes rotate three different techniques good for beginners and experienced silk painters alike, Johnson explained. The upcoming class on June 25 focuses on a Japanese style of silk painting known as Shibori.
“When you’re doing Shibori you’re applying the dies on the silk any way that you want,” she said, “and then it’s folded and tied up with string, you boil it for about half an hour to set, and when it’s complete then you let it air dry.”
The attendees at the upcoming class will be creating colorful silk scarves, she said, using the Shibori technique.
That particular style of silk painting leaves most of the color blending up to chance as dyes set in the boiling water. That’s part of the fun of the process, she said, seeing how the initial dye pattern changes while it sets.
“With silk painting there’s always a little bit of surprise with it,” she said. “That’s the magic of silk painting, because no matter what technique you use, there’s always a little surprise element to it, which is what I like about it.”
There is also a surprise in waiting to see who shows up to her classes, Johnson said. She can only fit six in a class, and they always fill up with anyone from first-time silk painters to experienced artists.
Teaching allows her to share knowledge, but also to learn, Johnson said. Seeing how different people apply the same techniques and colors illustrates a lot about silk painting, which she finds satisfying in its own right.
“Everyone is different. That’s why I like teaching also, because I can have several students—whether it be one student or 20 students—teaching them and giving them some technique and direction, and everyone’s will come out different because they put their own feelings into the silk,” Johnson said. “In just one class, everyone gets the same instruction, but the silk all comes out differently, and I love that.”
In the coming months Johnson will teach other techniques, like a hot wax technique, and a liquid resist technique called gutta.
The wax and the gutta techniques are ways to keep the liquid dyes segregated in the fabric, she explained, so the artist has more control in creating a more figurative subject or scene.
“It can be very detailed or very abstract,” she said. “That’s what I like about silk also, it’s very versatile.”
Johnson is also a member of the Los Padres Artist Guild, and will be showing her silk paintings and scarves for the Studio and Garden Tour on June 18. She said she enjoys studying, working with, and showing with local artists for camaraderie and inspiration.
And that’s what she gets at the Valley Art Gallery in spades, she said, as the nonprofit, artist-run gallery is the perfect place to work, teach, and show all in one.
“The Valley Art Gallery is a community gallery which brings in a lot of artists who get to share their talents and skills with the community at an affordable price,” she said. “You get a nice variety of artists, and we can share different techniques back and forth, go to each others’ classes if we like, learn from one another, and share our passion together.”
Arts Editor Joe Payne is curious about doing some silky tie-dye. Contact him at jpayne@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jun 16-23, 2016.